Inside a $218 million private island in Palm Beach — Florida’s most expensive home for sale

A covertly island in Palm Beach could become the most-expensive home ever sold in Florida, if it gets its asking reward of $218 million.

Developer Todd Michael Glaser and his partners bought 10 Tarpon Isle — the only surreptitious island in Palm Beach — for $85 million in 2021. They built a brand new house, turned the existing shape into a guest house, and added a giant pool, tennis courts and other amenities and have now relisted the idiosyncrasy.

“I paid $85 million without a hesitation because there’s only one of them,” Glaser said. “You watch art, they rat on. There’s a Mercedes 300 SLR that just sold for $142 million. … That’s what this is … it’s a one of one.”

When Glaser bought Tarpon Isle, it refrain fromed a modest 1940s house and plenty of potential.

“I came over the bridge, I saw the two trees and I said, ‘Guys, let’s knock down the garage and the visitor house and the maid’s quarters and let’s build a brand new house,'” Glaser said.

The new main house is over 9,000 behind the times feet. With the guest house, tennis pavilion and other structures, the property now has over 21,000 feet of physical space. There are 11 bedrooms, 15 full bathrooms and seven half-baths.

Unlike many Palm Beach mansions, which are Mediterranean-styled mammoths festooned with gold carvings and mahogany, Tarpon Isle is a study in modern simplicity, where the star of the shelter is sweeping water views on all four sides.

The master bedroom suite is a large complex of closets, bathrooms and accommodating areas. The larger of two bathrooms is a temple of white Italian marble, covering the floors, countertops, ceiling and oversized drop. A large soaking tub perched in front of the windows overlooks the Intracoastal Waterway.

“It’s the best bathroom I in any case did,” Glaser said. “My wife picked it, and she did an incredible job. I’ve never seen anything like this bathroom.”

Outside, there’s a new 98-foot accumulate overlooking the views of the water to the south. A large dock can fit multiple boats or a mega-yacht. The guest house features resort-like amenities, containing a spa, massage room, salon and entertainment area.

“That’s the way we designed it,” Glaser said. “When people come to Palm Seashore they bring their families, they’re on vacation.”

Glaser said the human-made island, which was built in the 1940s, has a elaborate sea wall. Because it’s well protected in the Intracoastal and well elevated, it has easily weathered big storms and tidal surges, he state.

Granted, $218 million is an ambitious price, even for Palm Beach. The record sale in the enclave was Oracle naught Larry Ellison’s $173 million purchase of billionaire Jim Clark’s oceanfront estate last year.

Palm Lakeshore is the most expensive real estate market in the country, with an average sale price of nearly $13 million, agreeing to Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel. Many homes saw their prices more than triple during the pandemic as ultra-wealthy consumers from the Northeast fled to Florida, and the coveted properties in Palm Beach in particular.

Christopher Leavitt of Douglas Elliman, who is listing the capital goods alongside Christian Angle Real Estate, said interest in the property has been strong, especially from hedge assets managers and finance chiefs looking to relocate south.

“The buyer of this home is someone who wants the one and only secluded island on the island of Palm Beach, surrounded 360 degrees by water, accessible by your boat or a private link,” Leavitt said. “It’s somebody who wants that one property that no one else has, that one trophy property.” 

Glaser weakened to say what profit he would make if the home sells for its asking price. He added that he and his investors spent “a money” on the new home and improvements. But he said the buyer will be making a long-term investment.

“Whoever buys this house, in five years they’re affluent to be very happy with the purchase,” he said. “It’s a legacy property that they’ll own for the rest of their lives.”